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A Real Team Effort: When Soccer Squads Go on Strike

An individual footballer going on strike is not unusual, but it has become less common for whole teams to do so. Nevertheless, today’s players owe much of their wealth and freedom to the collective action of their forerunners.
Hill speaking in his capacity as PFA chairman // PA Images

This article originally appeared on VICE Sports UK.

Stories of professional footballers going on strike are not uncommon. For the most part, however, these tend to be tales of individuals who refuse to play in an attempt to either force a move or improve the terms of their contract. Dimitri Payet is the most recent addition to a rogues' gallery that also includes George Best, Carlos Tevez, and Pierre Van Hooijdonk.

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It is less common, but by no means unheard of, for a group of players – sometimes even a whole team – to undertake collective strike action. In some instances, this too can be in pursuit of improved financial conditions, though the fact that it is collective tends to mean the strike is less motivated by avarice and more by a determination to improve everyone's lot. On other occasions, players have refused to participate to protest against the treatment of a teammate. And, in some instances, they might even be moved to do so by their unwavering faith in a dodgy set of floodlights.

Perhaps the most famous strike in the history of the English game was one that did not actually come to pass. But while games went ahead on the weekend of 21 January 1961, the changes that the threat of strike action brought about would have fundamental and long-lasting effects on the sport.

The man generally credited with taking English footballers to the brink of a walkout is Jimmy Hill, who later became better known for his cheerful TV punditry than his stint as a revolutionary agitator.

Hill had spent his playing career with Brentford and Fulham, notching up close to 300 games for the latter between 1952 and '61. Though a hard-working footballer, Hill was never a standout in the image of teammates Johnny Haynes and Bobby Robson. What he did possess was a fierce determination that stemmed from his childhood, excellent negotiating skills, and a uniquely keen sense for football's zeitgeist.

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While at the West London club Hill was elected chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA). Two fundamental issues were at the fore during this period. The first was the maximum wage, which was capped at £20 a week during the season and £17 for the summer. This number had increased since World War II, but only slightly, leading some players to be tempted to Italy, where there were no such limitations.

The second was the farcical retain and transfer system. After recognising professionalism in 1885, the Football Association introduced a system of player registration. Players registered with clubs on an annual basis and could only turn out for that side, unless they were sold elsewhere. At the end of each season, they were free to move on for no fee. This gave considerable power to the wealthier clubs, who could tempt players with higher (albeit not unrestricted) wages, while smaller outfits received no compensation for losing a star player.

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Clearly this was a problem, but the FA's solution to it was even more flawed. From the 1893/94 campaign onwards, a player could not move clubs without the permission of his current employers, even when his contract ran out and his registration lapsed. At this stage his club would not be required to pay the player, but could nevertheless refuse to allow him to move to another Football League club. Teams could also retain a player on a lower wage, so long as notice was given by a specified deadline. So, from a situation where players held the bulk of the power, the FA had swung the balance entirely the other way to give clubs unreasonable control over players.

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With Hill leading the way, the union wanted the wage cap and the retain and transfer system abolished, setting them on a collision course with the Football League. They came to blows when a group of Sunderland players were suspended for taking illegal bonuses that pushed their salaries over the maximum. Hill challenged this and had the players reinstated at Roker Park.

The case of George Eastham was also pivotal. After three years at Newcastle United, Eastham turned down a new deal in 1959 and asked for a transfer. His club refused and Eastham elected to sit out the 1960/61 season rather than play for them. In October 1960 the Magpies relented and accepted a bid from Arsenal. Eastham duly decamped to North London, but he did not forgive and forget.

Hill and the PFA were now determined to push through real, lasting change. Talks were held with the FA, the Football League and the Ministry of Labour. An increase in the maximum wage was proposed, with the ceiling rising to £30 over the following five years (the Blackburn Rovers chairman felt that even this would be "suicide for many clubs.") This went nowhere near far enough for the PFA, however, and following a meeting in London strike action was called. A total of 712 players voted, with just 18 of them against action.

Hill and colleagues at a meeting where the possibility of strike action was discussed // PA Images

The Football League returned with an improved proposal, but when this too was rejected the threat of fixtures being cancelled on 21 January became very real (causing considerable worry to the powerful Pools industry). Trades Union Congress chairman Ted Hill, no relation to Jimmy, warned that the labour movement would "remember the blacklegs when they finish in football and want to come back into industry." This should act as a reminder that a career in football during this era paid little more than the average worker.

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It would not come to that, however. On 18 January, the PFA got their wish and the maximum wage was abolished, with Hill's teammate Haynes becoming the first £100-a-week footballer. The strike was called off and games went ahead as planned (in the weekend's headline fixture, eventual champions Tottenham beat local rivals Arsenal 4-2 at White Hart Lane).

The fight was not over. At a subsequent meeting, the contract aspect of the agreement was simply dismissed by the League and clubs. They had perhaps underestimated the players' desire to force change. The PFA decided to take the matter to court, with Eastham's protracted departure from Newcastle used to demonstrate the unfairness of the retain and transfer system. They won, with the court ruling that the system was a "restraint of trade". Once more, power had been returned to the players – and the threat of collective strike action had been their greatest weapon.

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The threat of action precedes the 1960/61 case. Hill's predecessor as leader of the PFA (known as the Association of Football Players' and Trainers' Union, or AFPTU, until 1956), was the former Portsmouth forward Jimmy Guthrie, who once described the Football League as adhering to a "Victorian business ethic". As Pompey skipper at the 1939 FA Cup final, Guthrie threatened a boycott as he sought to recover wages he and his teammates had been docked at the start of World War II. As the game approached the Portsmouth players stood unchanged in the dressing room, with a shade under 100,000 fans packed into the ground to see them. "Just eight minutes before kick-off, our masters rather ungracefully surrendered," Guthrie later recalled. His side went on to beat favourites Wolves 4-1.

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Born in the Scottish village of Luncarty, Guthrie was a vocal union man and, had he not been a professional footballer, might well have stood on picket lines and spoken in meeting halls on behalf of another industry. His career was ended by a car accident later in 1939, but he remained active in the game and became AFPTU chairman in 1947. In 1955 he spoke at the TUC Congress in Blackpool, declaring: "I stand before you as the representative of the last bonded men in Britain. The conditions of the professional footballer's employment are akin to slavery." Guthrie was also instrumental in having an evening game between Wolves and Athletic Bilbao called off, believing this to be overtime for which players were not compensated.

Going back still further, the AFPTU had threatened strike action as early as 1909 over the same matters that Hill and co. would argue about half a century later. After the AFPTU made their aims clear, the FA withdrew support for the union. When strike action was threatened, the FA simply banned members of the AFPTU from participating in the 1909/10 season. Membership fell off, but Manchester United players remained steadfast, leading the press to dub them "Outcasts FC".

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Nevertheless, they would win out. Everton player Tim Coleman publicly backed the union, giving it a shot in the arm that restored membership. With the threat of cancelled fixtures at the start of the 1909/10 campaign looming large, the FA relented and the union was given official recognition, while some bonus payments were made legal to supplement the maximum wage.

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The contrast with today's footballers could not be more stark. Guthrie's claim that players were the "last bonded men in Britain" may have been hyperbolic, but there was at least a kernel of truth in it. At the time of his speech, footballers were not well remunerated and could be retained against their will by clubs. Today's players are paid sums that would make Guthrie and his colleagues choke on their half-time Bovril, with top Premier League earners taking home hundreds of thousands of pounds each week. What's more, the biggest stars can effectively dictate where they wish to play and, if ignored, can stage unilateral strike action in an attempt to force a move. The shift in power from owners to players has been spectacular and, one could argue, has served to erode a sense of camaraderie. It would surely have appalled union men like Guthrie to see individuals acting to the general detriment of the collective.

Not all modern footballers are multi-millionaires, of course. This is certainly true of the women's game which, while professional in some nations, is blessed with considerably less money than the men's equivalent. It was for this reason that the U.S. women's side contemplated strike action in 2016 – a move that could have forced them out of the 2016 Olympics – only for a judge to rule that doing so would be unlawful.

Their grievance stemmed from the fact that female players in the U.S. are sometimes paid up to four times less than their male counterparts, despite the women's side – who in 2015 won a record third World Cup – being considerably more successful.

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The players' union contemplated a strike but the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) filed pre-emptive legal action, arguing that a no-strike clause from a previous collective bargaining agreement remained binding. Action thus became impossible and their efforts for a more equal pay structure continue. On the other side of the gender divide, a strike by male footballers was called ahead of the 2010 MLS season. The players were looking to obtain "more guaranteed contracts, fewer unilateral contract options, and some form of free agency for out-of-contract players". They came to an agreement five days before the campaign kicked off, and the strike was averted.

Strikes are not always staged for quite such a noble cause, however. Witness the French national side at the 2010 World Cup.

Les Bleus have a feast or famine record at recent tournaments. Winners on home turf in 1998, they then endured a disastrous 2002 campaign that saw the holders fail to score a single goal and crash out in the group stage. They returned to form in 2006, finishing as runners-up following a penalty shootout defeat to Italy, but 2010 brought yet more disaster before a solid run to the quarter-finals in 2014.

While 2002 was embarrassing from a performance perspective, 2010 brought humiliation of a very different kind. Having reached the finals via a handball, the tournament began with a 0-0 draw against Uruguay and then a 2-0 defeat to Mexico. During half-time of the latter game, striker Nicolas Anelka became involved in a furious argument with manager Raymond Domenech. Anelka is reported to have instructed his boss to "go fuck yourself," adding "you son of a whore" for good measure. Anelka was hauled off for the second half and, after he supposedly refused to apologise, was expelled from the squad by the FFF (Fédération Française de Football).

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French coach Domenech and skipper Evra at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa // PA Images

Following the defeat, serious discontent developed in the French camp. At an open training session a few days later, the players launched strike action. As fitness coach Robert Duverne explained: "Patrice Evra came to tell me that the players were not going to participate in training. I was angry because we [were set to] play a big game in two days and we have no right to destroy our last chance [to progress]." After signing autographs, the players took to the pitch but did not train. Evra, the French captain, publicly argued with Duverne, then led his teammates off the pitch and onto a nearby bus. Domenech joined them and the curtains were promptly pulled shut.

The players had penned a letter which, in an act of incredible humiliation, Domenech was forced to read. It stated that the players were united "without exception" in their "opposition to the decision taken by the FFF to exclude Nicolas Anelka from the squad". They added that Anelka "attempted to have dialogue but his approach was ignored. The FFF has at no time tried to protect the squad. It has made a decision [to send Anelka home] without consulting all the players, on the basis of the facts reported by the press."

The fallout was considerable. The row became a national scandal, with French president Nicolas Sarkozy calling Anelka's behaviour "unacceptable" and the press roundly criticising the squad. Team director Jean-Louis Valentin resigned his position, while France went on to lose their final group game 2-1 to South Africa and exited the tournament with a whimper. The embattled Domenech lost his job and has not worked in a major role since. Anelka never played international football again, while the FFF suspended all 23 members of the squad for their next game, a 2-1 friendly defeat to Norway.

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Retired French legend Zinedine Zidane remarked: "Two things [will be] remembered from this World Cup – the winner and the fact that the French team refused to attend that training session". Their sense of camaraderie cannot be questioned, but choosing this as the hill they wished to die upon was perhaps not the best choice.

Finally, the Estonian national side's decision to stage a strike ahead of a World Cup qualifying match against Scotland would lead to one of the most farcical games in football history.

The match was scheduled for an evening kick-off at the Kadrioru Stadium in Tallin on 9 October 1996. The Scots trained at the ground the night before the match, and subsequently complained that the floodlights – which were on hire from Finland – were insufficient.

The Estonians disagreed and insisted that the game should go ahead as planned at 18:45 local time. But, at a meeting of the FIFA executive committee the next morning, kick-off was brought forward to 13:00 to avoid the possibility of a dimly lit match.

While Scotland were happy, Estonia certainly were not. They complained about the logistical impracticalities of such a switch, and the loss of TV revenue. They refused to budge and, in protest, refused to take part in the rescheduled match.

In a wholly ludicrous example of playing by the rules, the game went ahead as planned – albeit with only one team. Scottish skipper John Collins shook hands with the referee, the linesmen checked the nets, and the Scottish fans cheered in the stands as the whistle blew to begin the game. Seconds later the ref blew again, this time to end proceedings. Collins threw his arms up in mock celebration.

Scotland boss Craig Browen stands in the disappointing glow of the Tallin floodlights // PA Images

Scotland initially believed that they would be awarded a 3-0 walkover win, but FIFA decided that the game should be replayed on neutral turf. Four months later they played out a 0-0 draw at Stade Louis II in Monaco. The Scots were unhappy at the outcome of the fiasco, but nevertheless managed to qualify for the 1998 World Cup.

Collective strikes in football are not a common occurrence in the modern day. Given the money paid at the top level of the game and the comparative freedom afforded to players, there is no longer the same need to threaten boycotts like the one that almost occurred in 1961.

Nevertheless, these freedoms came about as a result of collective action by the players of the past. Men like Guthrie and Hill, as well as the many union members, fought hard to earn the rights that today's players enjoy – and, in some cases, exploit for their own gain. They also did so at considerable risk: had they lost, players may well have been blacklisted, and given the modest salary cap would have had meagre savings to fall back on.

Football, it should be remembered, is a collective pursuit. Success on the pitch and off it is built on an understanding that individual success comes only from collaboration. Even in the era of astronomical pay packets, it must be hoped that a sense of genuine solidarity remains in the game.

Recent occurrences suggest that it does. In 2012, the Serie A season was delayed when the players' union went on strike following a dispute over a new collective contract. One of the points being debated was the wellbeing of players forced to train on their own when dropped, which the union believed amounted to bullying. The message was clear: force players to train alone and the union will stand together.

@Jim_Weeks